AREA COMMANDS

A nine-ship battle group, led by the Bremerton-based supercarrier USS Nimitz, arrived on station in the Arabian Sea on March 18.

The Nimitz battle group includes the Bremerton-based cruiser USS Truxtun.

The ships relieved another task force led by the carrier USS Kitty Hawk, which had been on station near the Persian Gulf since for the past three months. The Kitty Hawk group included the Bremerton-based USS Sacramento.

Other ships in the Nimitz battle group, in addition, to the Truxtun, are USS Reeves, USS Lake Champlain, USS Leftwich, USS Kansas City, USS Shasta and the submarines USS Birmingham and USS Pogy.

Before arriving in the Middle East, the Nimitz and five other ships in its battle group paid a five-day port call to Singapore in the Far East.

The Nimitz, commanded by Capt. John B. Nathman, departed Bremerton on Feb. 1.

>b USS CAMDEN

Support ship rescues jet skiers

Two jet skiers with only 10 minutes worth of fuel left were rescued 22 nautical miles off the coast of Southern California in the middle of the night by the Bremerton-based fast combat support ship USS Camden last week.

The ship's crew spotted the lost skiers just as the Coast Guard was commencing a search for the two, who were overdue at Oceanside, Calif.

The pair and their jet skis were brought aboard the Camden and taken to San Diego, where they were offloaded the next morning. The skis were refueled by the ship.

The Camden, commanded by Capt. M.H. Kaczmarek, was conducting coastal operations at the time of the rescue.

>b PSNS

Shipyard illustrator honored

Kathleen Rusk, a graphic illustrator at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, has been honored as the best illustrator in the Navy for 1992, and the second best illustrator in the entire Defense Department.

The honor, dubbed the Thomas Jefferson Award, usually is won by the Air Force. But Rusk enabled the Navy claim the honor this year.

More Reading...

The Bremerton-based USS Camden and its crew of about 550 sailors will return home to a hero's welcome Monday morning after playing a vital role in Operation Iraqi Freedom, Navy officials said. Families are preparing a huge homecoming celebration for the fast combat support ... [Read More...]

For the first time in recent history, three Bremerton-based Navy ships are departing on the same day for an overseas deployment. The three are the fast combat support ship USS Camden and the guided-missile cruisers USS Arkansas and USS California. All are leaving ... [Read More...]

Ships will be coming and going in the next few months for operational commitments and home port changes. By Lloyd Pritchett Sun Staff Three of the Navy's six Bremerton-based ships have been assigned to a U.S. carrier battle group that is departing ... [Read More...]

Chief Boatswain's Mate Terry Slack, left, and Seaman John George of USS Camden observed the refueling of the British ship HMS York on Friday afternoon. The Camden's large fuel lines delivered 77,000 gallons of marine diesel and jet fuel to the York. The two ... [Read More...]

The Bremerton-based USS Camden is due to return home this morning from a six-month overseas deployment - come rain, snow, sleet, hail or sunshine. The fast combat support ship is scheduled to tie up at its pier inside Naval Station Bremerton at about 10 ... [Read More...]